Death & Taxes

History 9 Minutes

There are few sure things in life, but 2 are death and taxes. I’m presenting an article from Mental Floss about tax trivia.  I added pictures.

Why does Tax Day typically fall on April 15 (though it’s April 18 in 2022*), and which historical leader taxed beards? Read on for answers to those questions and more in this list, adapted from an episode of The List Show on YouTube. * (in 2023, it’s April 17th)

1. Taxes date back to at least ancient Egypt.

We can trace documented records of taxation all the way back to ancient Egypt, sometime around 3000 to 2800 BCE. Apparently, there was a biennial event called the Following of Horus, when the pharaoh went around collecting taxes in his dual roles as head of state and living incarnation of the god Horus. Taxation is even described in the Bible when Joseph tells the people of Egypt to give a fifth of their crops to Pharaoh.

2. The first taxes implemented in the United States caused a rebellion.

Fans of the Broadway musical Hamilton probably remember the lyric, “Imagine what gon’ happen when you try to tax our whiskey.” What happened was the Whiskey Rebellion, which was largely due to a tax that Alexander Hamilton imposed on—you guessed it—whiskey.

As you might imagine, people were extremely unhappy about it, especially small producers of whiskey, who, because of the way the tax was structured, had to pay nine cents per gallon in taxes, while larger producers were able to get as low as six cents. Violence quickly broke out. Tax officers were assaulted and tarred and feathered for trying to do their jobs, and several people were killed during riots. The rebellion was eventually quashed in 1794, and the whiskey tax remained in effect until 1802, when Thomas Jefferson repealed it.

3. Abraham Lincoln gave us federal income tax.

Abraham Lincoln signed the Revenue Act in 1861, which imposed the first-ever federal income tax. To drum up funds for the Civil War, Lincoln and Congress enacted a modest 3 percent tax on income over $800, which would be roughly $23,000 today. The law was almost instantly replaced with a new revenue act and would be repealed a decade later, but the relief obviously didn’t last: In 1913, the 16th Amendment established the federal income tax system we all know today.

4. Tax Day wasn’t originally on April 15.

When the modern federal income tax was established, lawmakers set March 1 as the looming deadline.

Although they gave no reason for this particular date, it was presumably to give people a couple of months to gather paperwork and crunch numbers after the end of the year. By 1919, the government tacked a couple of more weeks on to help panicked filers, making March 15 the date. That date stood until 1955, after Congress acknowledged that doing your taxes was getting more complicated by the year.

To help accommodate all of those changes and give people adequate time to file, the date was bumped by another month—but the change wasn’t entirely altruistic. The IRS acknowledged that the extra month would help their employees as well, spreading the workload out across another 30 days.

5. We spend a lot of time doing our taxes.

The amount of time we spend doing our taxes every year suggests that the repeated date changes may have been justified. According to the IRS, the average taxpayer spends about 11 hours doing record-keeping, tax planning, form submission, and other super fun tax-related activities. Of course, if you break it down even further, the amount of time changes based on the type of form the filers use. Business filers spend about 20 hours, including 10 hours on record-keeping alone.

6. The average American gets about $3000 back from their tax refund each year.

This amount ebbs and flows a little bit every year based on the economy, fluctuating consumer incomes, and the IRS’s withholding tables, which suggest how much employers should deduct from employee paychecks to account for income tax. It’s worth pointing out that a huge tax refund isn’t necessarily a great goal: It basically means you gave the government an interest-free loan that year.

7. In 1836, the federal government of the United States had a tax surplus of around $30 million.

Congress gave most of that money back to the states, and each state was able to decide how to handle it. Maine decided to give back to the people, which meant that every single resident received a whopping $2. A woman named Salome Sellers used her money to buy a pair of fancy candlesticks. As she told the New York Star Tribune in 1902, when she was about to turn 101 years old, “Many people put their share of the surplus into flimsy finery … but I bought something that would keep to remember those good times by.” Today, those surplus sticks are in a museum.

8. Peter the Great taxed beards.

In 1698, Russia’s Peter the Great introduced a beard tax. After embarking upon what he called a “Grand Embassy” across Europe to observe more about Western cultures and processes, Peter came back with a number of reforms designed to bring Russia up to speed—and one of those reforms impacted facial hair.

The tsar noted that “modern” Western Europeans eschewed beards, and he wanted to emulate the trend within his own borders. If that doesn’t seem strange enough, wait until you hear how he unveiled his new anti-beard beliefs: At a big state reception, the tsar whipped out a massive barber’s razor and proceeded to shave his guests’ beards.

Although Peter was originally against beards entirely, he eventually decided to make money off of his ban by allowing facial hair, but taxing it. Nobility and merchants were charged significantly more than commoners, by the way.

9. A former IRS commissioner went to prison for tax evasion.

In 1952, Joseph Nunan, who was the IRS commissioner from 1944 to 1947, was busted for evading over $90,000 in taxes. Among the transactions that he failed to claim was $1800 in winnings from a wager that Harry Truman would beat Thomas Dewey in the presidential election of 1948. Nunan was sentenced to five years in prison.

10. A famous gangster was ultimately taken down over taxes.

Mob boss Al Capone ran a criminal enterprise and regularly ordered hits on his enemies—but he wasn’t sent to prison for murder. Instead, he was charged with tax evasion and fraud, and was sentenced to 11 years.

11. Willie Nelson made an album to cover his tax debts.

It was called the IRS Tapes, and all proceeds went toward his tax bill.

12. Henry David Thoreau went to jail for failing to pay taxes.

The poet was imprisoned in 1846 for failing to pay a poll tax (a tax levied on every individual, regardless of income). Poll taxes were once typical in much of New England; paying the tax was typically a requisite to be able to vote, so they often functioned as a form of de facto discrimination against poorer citizens. Thoreau’s refusal to pay the poll tax was his way of protesting slavery. Someone paid the tax on Thoreau’s behalf, however, and he was released the next morning.

13. Shelled nuts are sometimes subject to taxes.

In England, shelled nuts are subject to a 20 percent value-added tax.

14. India has an entertainment tax.

Movie tickets are taxed anywhere from 18 to 28 percent depending on the price of the tickets. This is actually an improvement—before the government launched the Goods and Services tax, it was left up to each state to set its own entertainment tax. In Jharkhand, the tax was 110 percent.

15. There’s a cow flatulence tax.

Cow farts (really more like cow burps) are no laughing matter. The methane they produce is contributing to climate change in a big way. To help offset some of these drawbacks, many EU countries are looking at introducing a cow tax to tax producers for cow emissions.

16. England once had a special hat tax.

From 1784 to 1811, British citizens had to pay a tax on their hats. To prove they paid the tax, a stamp was pasted inside the hat. If the hat police caught you wearing a stamp-less hat, you’d be hit with a hefty fine. In 1798, a man named John Collins was caught using a printing press to forge the stamps, which would allow people to skirt the tax. He was sentenced to death.

17. There’s a tax court.

There are always people who get creative with their tax deductions. While most don’t pass muster, the United States Tax Court, a court of law dedicated to tax-related disputes and issues, does occasionally find in favor of some pretty unusual claims. For example, TurboTax tells the story of a professional bodybuilder who successfully claimed his supply of body oil as a professional necessity. (He also tried to claim buffalo meat and vitamin supplements, which they nixed.)

18. New Mexico gives a tax break to all centenarians.

If you live in New Mexico, and have lived there for at least a century, great news: You don’t have to pay state taxes. The Land of Enchantment provides a major tax break to all centenarians. But considering there are only 80,000 100-plus-year-olds in the entire United States, New Mexico isn’t exactly losing out on major money by providing this perk.

19. Even astronauts in space need to file their taxes on time (or ask for an extension).The IRS is a notorious stickler for on-time filing—which no one knows better than Jack Swigert, the command module pilot for Apollo 13, who joined the crew at the last minute. He was mid-mission when he realized that he was going to miss the April 15 tax deadline, so he radioed Houston to request an extension. Although the ground crew laughed at what they presumed was a joke, Swigert was dead serious. According to NASA transcripts, he said, “Hey, listen, it ain’t too funny; things kind of happened real fast down there, and I do need an extension. I didn’t get mine filed, and this is serious.”This sort of thing happens more than you might expect, by the way. In 2005, NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao was commanding the 10th expedition to the International Space Station when Tax Day reared its ugly head. He prevailed upon his sister, an accountant, to file an extension on his behalf, and he got right on it when he returned to Earth on April 24.20. The president of the United States isn’t exempt from taxes.In fact, the POTUS is expected to pay their rightful share, though there are a few nice perks, including a nontaxable travel account worth $100,000 and a nontaxable entertainment account with a $19,000 limit.

21. The IRS updates tax requirements on a regular basis.With the Reform Act of 1986, the IRS started requiring taxpayers to list their dependents’ Social Security numbers for the first time. When citizens were forced to provide this evidence, several million children mysteriously “disappeared” from tax returns.22. Most people file their taxes electronically.As of 2018, only 10 percent of people were still filing paper tax returns. Not only does this mean that those people will wait longer to get any refunds back, it also increases their chances of screwing things up: Paper tax returns are around 40 times more likely to contain mistakes compared to online filing.23. There’s a good chance you can file your taxes for free.If your adjusted gross income is less than $69,000, you’re eligible to use IRS Free File. Seventy percent of filers qualify, which works out to 100 million Americans. If your adjusted gross income is more than $69,000, you can still use Free File. But it’s not going to walk you through the process step-by-step like the other version, so you have to feel pretty comfortable doing your taxes.24. Founding Father Sam Adams was bad at collecting taxes.Adams was elected to Boston’s tax collector post in 1756, but he wasn’t terribly interested in the job. He was prone to overlooking tax debts from people having financial or medical difficulties, which made him a bit like Robin Hood to working-class Bostonians. The problem was, the tax collector was personally liable for uncollected taxes—and by 1765, he owed more than £8,000—equivalent to nearly £1.5 million today. He did end up trying to go after some of the uncollected taxes, but apparently without much success. According to the New England Historical Society, his well-to-do friends ended up covering most of Adams’s debt.25. Vermont once declared war on Germany for tax purposes.In the lead-up to the United States entering World War II, Vermont lawmakers voted to give residents serving in the military a $10-a-month bonus. If the raise was instituted during peacetime, though, everyone would have been hit with a new tax. In order to avoid it, the bonus needed to be issued during a time of armed conflict.War hadn’t officially been declared yet, but President Franklin Roosevelt had issued orders for the U.S. Navy to shoot first if they came across German ships in waters “necessary for our defense.” Vermont lawmakers decided this order was enough for them to basically declare we were at war with Germany in September 1941—three months before the United States did.

This article was originally published in 2021; it has been updated for 2022.

SOURCE: Mental Floss

Unknown's avatar

Published by pat frederick

Published

166 thoughts on “Death & Taxes”

  1. Morning, Pat! Sleep patterns are screwed up again – ah, well, such is life in my world! I posted a substack article a few days ago from “A Midwestern Doctor,” talking about how he was a highly successful surgeon in Washington but left in disgust when they started this COVID abuse; moved to FL and started a free clinic at a church there…..not sure if I posted it here but I think I did. Imagine my pleasure when I saw him on Fox early this morning!!! Yesssss!!! I AM VINDICATED!!! ROFL

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Morning Filly!
      rough start this morning! Hubby is an active dreamer–so if he’s dreaming of playing soccer–his legs are moving all night. last night he must have been boxing (I asked–he doesn’t remember). he kept punching my pillow (not me though) for the first 2 hours we were in bed. finally he drifted into deeper sleep and then so could i.
      trying out the new washer this morning!

      Liked by 1 person

        1. not only that…but I want to get the sounds in my mind of what’s normal for this one. it is much louder than the old one, but it maybe because we removed the bi-fold doors so they could fit it in and we haven’t put them back up yet…

          Liked by 1 person

      1. Moved into the Lodge – but not all moved in and set up in the sewing room. They let me use a spare apartment for the sewing. But when I got there, the cleaning crew had all their mops, vacs, and stuff in there. I just moved a table and chair into the room and left them a note that I’d be using the apartment for a wheelchair workshop this week. Wondering about leaving all my sewing stuff in there with all of them coming and going.

        Liked by 1 person

            1. they must! you deal with things I just don’t know if I’d have the patience to deal with regularly!
              you are a blessing GA!

              Like

  3. “STORY AT-A-GLANCE”

    — Animals instinctively select the foods they need to correct nutrient deficiencies based on flavor feedback; humans are equipped with similar chemical-sensing ability, which is being hijacked by artificially flavored foods

    — Flavor experience takes up more gray matter than any other sensory experience, and the largest portion of the human genome involves the creation of your nose. So, from an evolutionary perspective, this chemical-sensing ability appears particularly important

    — Flavor is a marker for the nutritional density of the food. Artificial flavor technology has allowed for the radical deterioration of food quality, as you can easily mask the flavor of inferior-quality ingredients with chemicals

    — Using flavored chemicals, you can now produce food that have virtually no nutritional value, yet the great taste and aroma fool consumers into thinking they’re eating something wholesome
    Artificial flavors encourage obesity as they entice you to eat food you normally would not want to eat, and eat more than you normally would

    Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published June 3, 2018.

    In his book “The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor,” award-winning journalist and author, Mark Schatzker, investigates the introduction of flavor into the industrialized food supply. An investigative journalist by profession, Schatzker’s curiosity about flavor led him to eventually write two books addressing this issue. The first, “Steak: One Man’s Search for the World’s Tastiest Piece of Beef” was, as the title implies, about steak.

    “I got deep into the science of flavor [and] the science of how we perceive flavor. But I also [asked a] question that we rarely ask, which is ‘Why does food have flavor?’ We think it’s all very simple. We take for granted of the fact that apples taste like apples and steak tastes like steak. But then when you start to get inside it, it becomes very interesting,” he says.

    “I would visit a ranch and there would be a field of pregnant cows and a field of steers. The rancher would say, ‘Oh, the pregnant cows are in a field of clover because they need a lot of protein [when] they’re pregnant.’ Cows don’t even know what protein is, so how does a cow know what to eat?

    The answer is flavor feedback. They seek out the flavors that bring their bodies what they need. It’s something we are certainly very alienated from … We tend to think there’s an inverse relationship between health and deliciousness. I set out to do that steak book thinking, ‘It might be that the best steak I find is awful for the cow [and] horrible for the planet; it’s like a heart attack on a plate.’

    What I found, oddly, was that the most delicious steak was the best for the planet, nicest for the cow and the best for me. I thought, ‘This is not what I expected. This is not what we were taught to expect. Is there something going on here?’ … [I]n nature … delicious flavors guide animals to the foods they need. So, I asked what is a simple question with a very complex answer, which is, ‘Does it work that way for humans?'”

    https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/04/16/truth-about-food-and-flavor.aspx

    Liked by 1 person

  4. “Veterinary Replicon Vaccines–Massive Genetic Effort in Veterinary Medicine Described as “Elegant”
    PETER A. MCCULLOUGH, MD, MPH™
    APR 17, 2023

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH

    The news has been full for months with stories about striking Dutch farmers, Chinese acquisition of foreign farms, projected food shortages, and now vaccination of plants and animals in the food supply. Compared with human medicine, veterinary medicine is far ahead in genetic vaccine technologies. One of the reasons is that the life cycle of a livestock is sufficiently short that clinical studies simply aim to demonstrate efficacy with reasonable safety as a secondary goal.

    Hikke and Pijlman describe “replicon” vaccines in development and approved products. “To increase the potency by stimulating multiple immune pathways simultaneously, nucleic acid vaccines based on self-replicating viral RNAs (replicon vaccines) have been developed. An important feature that sets replicon vaccines apart from LAV or viral-vectored vaccines is their inability to spread from cell to cell. Replicons do not code for viral structural proteins required for encapsidation but instead code for a heterologous gene of interest. Thus, replicons are not infectious and are limited to a single round of replication. In its most simple form, a replicon is a cloned viral complementary DNA (cDNA) with the structural genes removed.”

    One could imagine the danger if such a “replicon” was devised for humans, but coded for a foreign and damaging protein such as the WIV SARS-CoV-2 Spike or Influenza hemagglutinin (HA). The inability to not only shut off antigen production but to control continued amplification beyond one round of RNA could overwhelm the body with damaging antigen production. Expression of foreign proteins/antigens on the cell surface over time is bound to generate autoimmunity and a variety of problems.

    In summary, safety for veterinary use is not the same as for human use. We will need to take a careful look at advances in human medicine that attempt to parallel those taken with farm animals, livestock, and other elements of the food supply.”

    https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/veterinary-replicon-vaccines

    Liked by 1 person

  6. EXCERPT: “Bad news – the big pharma complex wants to hide vaccines in your food including these mRNA poisons. Good news – Missouri HB1169 could stop this. Best news – other states are considering similar bills to protect the food supply (BTW – I will help ANY state to get this done). With that…

    I want to begin this article with some background. First of all, yes, vaccines can be made transmissible through food. Second, mRNA IS in the food supply already. Third, it appears the vaccines may, in fact, actually alter your DNA permanently. And Fourth, regardless of whether the mRNA in the food supply or that which is about to be authorized for the food supply is transmissible, we have no way of know it is safe unless you want to trust the same people that told you the COVID jabs were safe and effective (despite the fact that they did not test to determine if the jabs prevented transmission and have admitted they do not understand the immune response mechanism).”

    Here are the citations for the fact checkers:
    ———————-
    Given the massive holes in our knowledge gaps and the number of lies regarding the safety and efficacy of mRNA vaccines it is difficult to know or trust that meat treated with these vaccines is safe. Remember Fauci and crew telling us this was a “crisis of the unvaxxed” and that the hospitals were filled to capacity with 90%+ of the patients being unvaxxed? That while he had the DoD data from Project Salus showing the exact opposite.

    While I will not suggest anyone should simply “trust what I’m saying” I will tell you that in numerous conversations with scientists investigating the issue, I am consistently hearing that when they test, they are finding mRNA in the food supply already. In fact, within the last week I was shown data and microscopy demonstrating this to be true (I saw the images of the microscopy myself). These are not public (to my knowledge) but I hope to share the information as it becomes available to publicly disseminate.”

    https://tomrenz.substack.com/p/stopping-vaccines-in-food-only-1

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Good Morning ☀️!
      Not sure how I feel about Maricopa County’s gain in population. They already have imbedded bicameral corruption…hey! I guess that means they hit the ground running! 😳😡🙄🤮

      Liked by 2 people

  10. Like

  11. Liked by 2 people

  13. Like

        1. we were “warned” by the reviews that this is a loud machine. loudness is not a concern to me as much as efficiency, durability and capacity.
          the drum is HUGE in this one (why we wanted a commercial washer) so I can wash my quilts.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. I understand that, too – I did wash one of my bigger quilts (queen) in mine but it was REALLY close and I’m convinced it didn’t get as clean but it worked at least. Mine is a HD Kenmore but a normal-sized drum.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. does anyone sell kenmore anymore??
              a lot of the washers we saw were “smart” ones, so they were made by LG and other electronic sounding companies. I want a washer, not a gadget

              Liked by 2 people






  21. “State police said Colin Davis McCarthy, 38, had been chucking wads of
    $100 bills from his car’s window along Interstate 5 in Eugene, Oregon, on Tuesday, causing other drivers to slow down and collect the unexpected windfall, Oregon State Police said. After troopers located McCarthy’s car, the generous motorist told them that he was “doing well and wanted to bless others with gifts of money,” Oregon State Police told KVAL-TV.

    Troopers, who were worried that people looking for cash in the dark on the interstate could cause an accident, managed to convince McCarthy to stop tossing the cash. He estimated that the spread around roughly $200,000 that night, which he had procured by emptying his family’s bank account.”

    Liked by 1 person

  23. made in PA

    Skidroe
    April 17, 2023 7:40 am

    Still had some corona left in the fridge but I took my lovely wife out for dinner last night and had my first Yuengling light beer. It was so good I ordered a second. Never will buy another Bud brand again. Did not know that Yuengling endoresd President Trump. FJB-FAB!

    Liked by 1 person


  24. “Every tourist who goes to Rome most likely goes to throw money in to the Trevi Fountain. I know – I’ve done it myself. It really is an amazing place, and if you do go there, right across the piazza there’s a really cool little outside cafe’/bar that’s perfect for babe watching.

    Anyway, D’ja ever wonder what happens to all the money that goes in to the fountain? Don’t even think about reaching in a grabbing some – they lock your ass up for ten days just for trying. No, all that cash goes to a catholic charity – upwards of two million Euros a year. Nice work if you can get it.”

    Liked by 1 person

        1. I wait another few weeks until my gums/bone are 100% healed and ready for dentures. What I do next depends on whether I have the $$ for the dentures. If I don’t, I will start the drill again on my sinus issue……appointment with the ENT specialist, he’ll look up there again, possibly attempt to make me do yet another round of Prednisone, which I will steadfastly resist, then…..hopefully, another CT scan to ACTUALLY look at my sinuses and wherever else this might be coming from…..we’re talking weeks/months down the road by that point. Then they will decide what course to pursue – scrape my sinuses, possibly? IDK

          Liked by 1 person

  28. this is really no surprise…what will happen tho?
    entire article
    A new court filing reveals that Kamala Harris, Merrick Garland, and other leading Democrats in the Biden Administration, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandra Mayorkis, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, have no oath of loyalty to the US Constitution on file, as required by law.

    A writ of quo warranto filed in Washington, DC asserts that oaths of office for high-ranking members of Joe Biden’s cabinet are nowhere to be found, in blatant violation of the US Code that requires all elected officials to keep a sworn affidavit of their oath on file, proving their sworn continued allegiance to the United States and the US Constitution.

    Filed by attorneys on behalf of petitioner Lisa McGee, the court motion is asking the US Attorney in the District of Columbia to require that a laundry list of elected and appointed Biden Administration officials produce their oath affidavits within 10 days, to prove that they’ve actually met the constitutional and legal requirements to hold office.

    McGee had previously sought access to the oaths of office in question through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, but received nothing back, calling the lawfulness of the entire Biden Administration into question.

    A press release from Ferguson Law, one of the firms acting on behalf of McGee, explains the gravity of the situation and reaffirms the sentiments of the legal filing.

    The apparent non-existence of oath affidavits for high-ranking Biden officials “nullifies, or at a minimum, calls into question the legitimacy of their appointments or positions,” the statement reads.

    “The absence of these mandatory oath of office affidavits shifts the burden to the appointees to prove to Ms. McGee and the US Attorney their bona fides. The production of these statutorily required affidavits is also required by law.”

    “Missing Oaths of Office will render a majority of the Biden Administration Cabinet unlawful and their official acts from the date of appointment void,” the statement goes on to explain. “Failure to produce the affidavit(s) to the US Attorney will provide the necessary jurisdiction to the Federal District Court of Washington D.C. to issue said Writ Quo Warranto.”

    https://nationalfile.com/court-filing-kamala-harris-merrick-garland-violate-us-code-have-no-oath-of-office-on-file/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. duchess just posted at wolfs…I think she starts there…so she’s coming…lol
      GA is at Sally’s so she only posts sparsely during that time…

      Liked by 1 person

  33. whoa…this is incredibly stupid

    sync
    April 17, 2023 10:30 am

    Never trust what comes out of this guy’s mouth

    #ICYMI: In my lifetime, I have never seen the United States of America in a more just war. Our purpose is to defend freedom and fight for democracy, and that’s why we’re supporting Ukraine every step of the way as they defend their country & their way of life. pic.twitter.com/KWld4C2DLp

    — Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) April 15, 2023

    Like

  39. we had a hard collision this morning–a female woodpecker flew into the front window. we found her on the deck, twitching a little, knocked out, but breathing. it took her quite a while, but she came to, righted herself and eventually flew off. yay!

    Liked by 1 person

  42. Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.